My dissertation seeks to explain the relationship between organization level human resource (HR) practices related to affect and emotion regulation at the individual level through the concept of fit. Emotion regulation at work is inevitable but, to date, research has not evaluated how organizations may be able to reduce the emotion regulation and emotive dissonance of employees or how fit may mediate this relationship. Decades of research have established the importance of fit throughout the employee lifecycle and focused on the positive outcomes of fit such as increased job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and reduced turnover. Although little research has explored the effect of fit on emotion regulation, recent work by Diefendorff, Greguras, & Fleenor (2016) has introduced the concept of emotional demands-abilities (ED-A) fit, or the perceived compatibility between a job’s emotional demands and the ability of the employee to meet those emotional demands. Drawing on the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) model (Schneider, 1987) and fit literature, I suggest that the emotion regulation requirements of the job will be minimized for individuals with good ED-A fit and person-display rule fit. More specifically, in this dissertation, I explore the idea that organizations can, through human resource practices focused on emotions, improve the emotional demands-abilities fit of employees which, in turn, will reduce the emotion regulation required of employees on day-to-day basis. My dissertation also contributes to the management literature through the development and validation of a comprehensive scale of emotion-focused HR practices.
Read
